Mattress for clinical and other purposes

ABSTRACT

A MATTRESS COMPRISING A LOWER SLAB WITH A FLAT BASE AND TWO UPPER INCLINED SURFACES SLOPING FROM THE EXTREMITIES TOWARDS THE CENTER AND AN UPPER SLAB WITH A FLAT TOP AND TWO LOWER INCLINED SURFACES SLOPING FROM THE CENTER TOWARDS THE EXTREMITIES, THE UPPER SLAB BEING SHORTER THAN THE LOWER SLAB AND THE INCLINED SURFACES OF THE UPPER SLAB CORRESPONDING TO THOSE OF THE LOWER SLAB.

"'Spt. 28,-1971 R. o. PARRAMON 3,603,105

MATTRESS FOR CLINICAL AND OTHER PURPOSES Filed Feb. 12, 1968 INVENTOR.R0m6n O. Pdrromn BY WWAM,

ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent Int. Cl. A47c 25/00,- A61g 7/04 U.S. Cl. -345 8Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A mattress comprising a lower slabwith a flat base and two upper inclined surfaces sloping from theextremities towards the center and an upper slab with a flat top and twolower inclined surfaces sloping from the center towards the extremities,the upper slab being shorter than the lower slab and the inclinedsurfaces of the upper slab corresponding to those of the lower slab.

The present invention relates to improvements in a mattress for clinicaland other purposes, intended to establish the appropriate conditions forsatisfactory rest or support of a human body, such that the latterassumes a prescribed anatomical position due to the optimum location ofthe vertebral column.

This invention consists in a mattress for clinical and other purposes,in which the load applied thereon by the intrinsic weight of a stretchedout human body causes interactions engendering forces and consequentcomplementary deformations of these slabs, such as to produce a surfacepattern appropriate for the correct positioning of the said body in theanatomical sense.

In the mattress according to the invention, the surface layout of theupper part of the mattress is determined by combining a set of blocks orslabs of soft or resilient material comprising a lower slab having afiat base and an upper side having two surfaces sloping from theextremities towards the center, and an upper slab which is flat at thetop and possessing two sloping surfaces on its underside, correspondingto the said upper side of the first slab, so that this latter is coveredby the second slab except for its terminal areas, the arrangement beingsuch that when a human body is lying on the :said set, the upper slabtends to warp convexly at the top and concavely along its two bottomplanes, in its turn causing a wavy or analogous deformation of thesloping planes of the lower slab, causing the deformation of depressionsin the terminal areas and prominences rising from the central part ofthe mattress.

The upper slab preferably has a transpiercing slot traversing it fromend to end, intended to receive a rigid plate parallel to the upperside, to provide a definite degree of rigidity affecting the surfaceconfiguration of the pair of slabs under the action of the Weight of thestretched out human body.

The base of the lower slab may be supported by a rigid support panel,covering the greater proportion of its surface at least, with theexception of its terminal areas.

The upper side of the mattress preferably has three areas, each withdifferent slope, forming a lower portion at the middle of the pair orset, in which the terminal areas form part of the lower slab and thecentral area forms part of the upper slab, so that the terminal areacorresponding to the head end has a greater slope than the areacorresponding to the foot end, the central area being substantiallyhorizontal, the extremities of the lower slab differing in height, thehead side extremity preferably being higher.

According to a feature of the invention, the lower slab may comprise twoelements separated by the transverse line corresponding to the lowestlevel of the sloping planes.

The different components of the mattress may be joined to each other bysuch means as welding or bonding.

The upper side of the mattress may be shaped to particular anatomicalcontours intended for specific clinical requirements.

The invention will now be described in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of the invention,but in no restrictive sense.

FIG. 1 is an illustration in perspective of an elementary embodiment ofthe said mattress.

FIG. 2 illustrates a lateral elevation of a mattress comprising threeslabs.

FIG. 3 corresponds to a cross-section taken along the line III-III ofthe mattress of the preceding figure.

'FIG. 4 corresponds to a longitudinal section taken along the line VIVof the mattress of the preceding figure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a lateral elevation of a mattress corresponding toFIG. 2, showing the configuration assumed by the same under the actionof the weight of a human body.

A mattress according to the present invention comprises a lower slab 1and an upper slab 2, both being made of spongy or similarly soft orresilient material.

The lower slab l, which is rectangular in plan View, has a plane lowerside 3, and its upper side is formed by two inclined planes sloping fromthe extremities towards the middle.

The upper slab 2, also rectangular in plan view, is triangular incross-section and has a plane upper side 5 and its underside 6 has twoinclined planes corresponding to those of the side 4 of the slab 1. Thissecond slab 2 is shorter than the lower slab 1 and does not cover theextreme areas of the latter.

The said arrangement of the slabs 1 and 2 forms a combination which isrectangular in plan view, possessing a fiat base and an upper sideformed by three planes differing in slope and forming a lower portion atthe middle. The said three inclined planes may be symmetricallyarranged, or the two planes of the upper side 4 of the slab 1 may havedifferent slopes, so that the upper side 5 of the upper slab 2 alsoacquires an inclination.

In practice, it is advantageous for the lower slab 1 to be made of twoelements, one corresponding to the head side or headboard and the otherto the foot side or footboard of the bedstead, separated by the centralline at the lowest level of the inclined planes, consisting of twohalf-slabs 1A and 1B.

The upper slab 2 has a transverse slot 7 intended for insertion of arigid plate 8 extending over the width of the mattress. This plate maypossess perforations 8a. Its use is optional, its purpose being toprovide greater rigidity in the central area of the mattress.

At the base of the mattress is situated a rigid plate or panel 9 whichmay or may not cover its entire longitudinal extension. This plate isintended to provide the aggregate with a higher degree of rigiditycompared to a case in which the mattress is placed on a spring base.

FIG. 2 shows particular dimensional features of a mattress, the valuesspecified hereinafter being applicable in a practical case.

The lower slab 1 has an overall length L which is the sum of the lengthsL1 and L2 of the two component elements 1A and 1B. The maximum height ofthe same slab 1 has the values H1 and H2 corresponding to the headboardand to the footboard, the latter being smaller.

In accordance with the preceding, the lower slab 1 has angles of 90 atits lower corners, whereas the values at its upper corners correspond toangles b of 72 and angles of 80.

The upper slab 2 has a length L3 which is smaller than the length L ofthe lower slab 1. In its turn, the length of the plate 8 is smaller thanthe said value L3 of the slab housing the same.

The two slabs 1 and 2 may be separated, or joined to each other bywelding or bonding.

The two slabs 1 and 2 are made of a non-hygroscopic spongy or expandedmaterial, such as latex or polyurethane. The use of synthetic fibres inagglomerated layers embedded in latex is preferable.

In some cases, it is preferable to have a difference in density betweenthe materials used for the upper slab 2 and the lower slab 1, forexample one'may have a weight of 25 kilogrammes per m. and the other aweight of 30 kilogrammes per m.

FIG. illustrates the configuration imparted to the upper side of themattress in question under the action of the weight of a stretched outperson. This weight is mainly borne by the upper slab 2 whereof thedeformation is opposed by the rigid plate 8, thus pressing on the lowerslab 1 in such manner as to deform the upper side 4 of the same into awavy outline which may correspond to the line 4E that is to say convexlytowards the ends and concavely at the middle of the mattress. In itsturn, this deformation causes that of the upper slab 2 so that its planeside 5 is curved convexly according to the line 5E.

To clarify matters, FIG. 5 is an illustration, in exaggeratedproportions, of the final contour assumed by the mattress when in use,this contour being that considered to be the most satisfactory forclinical as well as general purposes.

The mattresses in question may be employed for normal use, for purposesof relaxation, for children, and for clinical purposes. For theselatter, it may be prescribed in cases of physical defects, whether oftraumatic origin or of pathological type, providing correct positioningand comfortable adaptation to the human body in an such cases.

These mattresses may have their upper sides formed to reproduceparticular anatomical contours, whether corresponding to a common typeof aflliction or simply corresponding to special cases, and in the caseof the former, previously prepared mattresses may be made available.

What I claim is:

1. A mattress, comprising in combination a lower slab and an upper slab,the lower slab having a flat base and an upper side with two inclinedsurfaces sloping from the extremities towards the center, the upper slabhaving a flat top and a lower side with two inclined surfaces slopingfrom the centre towards the extremities, said lower side of the upperslab corresponding to the central portion of said upper side of thelower slab, said lower slab being covered by said upper slab except overthe extreme portions thereof, the pressure of a human body acting onsaid slabs so that the upper slab tends to warp convexly at the top andconcavely along its two bottom planes and the lower slab undergoes asubstantially wavy deformation in its sloping planes, thus formingdepressions in the extreme areas and prominences about the central partof the mattress.

2. A mattress as claimed in claim 1, in which the upper slab has atranspiercing transverse slot intended to receive a rigid plate parallelto its upper side to provide a definite degree of rigidity affecting thesurface configuration of the said set of slabs under the action of theweight of a stretched out human body.

3. A mattress for clinical and other purposes as claimed in claim 1, inwhich the base of the lower slab is supported by a rigid plate or panelcovering the greater proportion of its surface at least, with theexception of its terminal areas.

4. A mattress as claimed in claim 1, in which the upper side of themattress has three areas, each with a different slope, forming a lowerportion at the middle of the mattress, in which the terminal areas formpart of the lower slab and the central area forms part of the upperslab, so that the terminal area corresponding to the head side has agreater slope than the terminal area corresponding to the foot side, thecentral area being substantially horizontal, the extremities of thelower slab ditfering in height, the head side extremity being higher.

5. A mattress as claimed in claim 1, in which the lower slab comprisestwo elements separated by the transverse line corresponding to thelowest level of the sloping planes.

6. A mattress as claimed in claim 1, in which the different componentsof the mattress are jointed to each other by joining means.

7. A mattress as claimed in claim 1, in which the upper side of themattress is shaped to particular anatomical contours intended forspecific clinical requirements.

8. A mattres as claimed in claim 1, in which the com ponent soft orresilient slabs are made of materials of different densities accordingto the configuration of the upper side required whilst the mattress isin use.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,289,224 12/1966 Witchel 5352X3,243,828 4/1966 McCarty 5338 3,110,042 11/ 1963 Slemmons 5345 BOBBY R.GAY, Primary Examiner A. M. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 59l

